Who Is
This?
By Peggy Kleckner
“Jesus was sleeping
at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up,
shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?’ ”
Mark
4:38 (NLT)
Perhaps
you are unfamiliar with this story. Jesus told His disciples, “Let’s cross to
the other side of the lake.” Plainly, the trip in the boat was His idea. The Scriptures
note this, “But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the
boat, and it began to fill with water.” Yet the disciples had to wake Jesus who
was at the back of the boat with His head on a cushion asleep!
Jesus
was not panic-stricken; in fact, He seemed to them unaware of their peril. They
don’t call Him by name, they call Him “Teacher.” Clearly this is a name of
respect, not familiarity. They have already been fighting the storm on their
own, so much so that the boat has begun to take on water.
Students
don’t always like to ask questions. I wonder if these students had all been
looking at Jesus waiting for Him to get up and do something. Was it perhaps that
they felt confident in boat-handling and thought He only knew how to preach?
They didn’t ask Him to do anything, they asked Him what each of us seems to
wonder at times…doesn’t He care that we are in a difficult situation that
certainly looks like it will overcome us?
Have
you been there? Are you there now? Are you too wondering if Jesus really cares
at all?
These
disciples are no different than we are. In the middle of a storm, in a boat,
taking on water they are demanding an answer to their heart’s question: Does
Jesus care?
What
was Jesus’ reply? “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet!
Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” His response
was action and then these words, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no
faith?”
They
knew Him as “Teacher.” This displayed Jesus as much more, and they were left to
ask, “Who is this?” They thought they knew Him, but this didn’t fit their
picture and they didn’t know what to do with this revelation. Jesus is much
more than a man. He had not called out to God. He had commanded the wind and
the waves and they had obeyed.
In
our own faith walk we will also come into situations that push us to broaden
our view of Jesus. He is always so much more.
GOING
DEEPER:
1. Who is this Jesus to you?
2. Are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?
FURTHER
READING:
John
1:29; John 4:25-26; John 21:12
Peggy is a wife and mother of four children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.
Peggy is a wife and mother of four children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.
